


A Deal Struck

by SociallyAwkwardFox



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Episode Related, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26449891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyAwkwardFox/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: Caleb strikes a deal with Isharnai to break Nott's curse.
Relationships: The Mighty Nein & Caleb Widogast
Comments: 8
Kudos: 105





	A Deal Struck

**Author's Note:**

> Jester's cupcake plan was absolutely incredible and is one of the highlights of this campaign for me. I mean, what a play! That being said, I couldn't help wondering what would have happened if Caleb went in and this idea formed that I couldn't resist writing!

The noise of the others talking sounded like nothing but white noise to his ears as he looked at Nott and Beau. The desperation in Nott's eyes at having the chance of freedom to be herself once again just within reach. Beau ready to give up everything for her to have that chance. Ready to leave them all behind. To toss away everything she worked so hard for.

While the others were still busy arguing the best way to proceed, he spun on his heel to stare into the glowing interior of the hut. His footsteps were soundless against the soft grass as he cut the short distance to the threshold, then crossed it. The door slammed shut behind him blocking any escape and sound of his friends on the other side. The hag motioned for him to take a seat in the chair across from her and waited patiently for him to do so.

Her elongated fingers grasped the table when she leaned forward to inspect him. “What is it you want from me?”

“The same as the others.”

“And what do you plan to offer in exchange?”

“There is not much in the way of new suffering I could offer you, but I have something you may want, and it would hurt greatly to part with it.”

“What would this trade be?”

“You work with powerful magics. I have something that could make it easier for you to do so. Quite a lot of it.” Slowly, he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to reveal the scarred arms underneath. “You can have it. All of it.”

A creeping grin stretched across her face, then she leaned forward to wave her hand over one of his forearms. The faint glow of the crystals buried in him illuminated his skin a sickly green that faded when the hag pulled back. She kept her fingers loosely wrapped around his wrist as she considered his offer with growing interest.

“This is your offer? All of this for her curse to be broken?”

“Yes.”

“We have a deal.” Her nails dug painfully into his skin to wrench free the first crystal sending his mind back to Ikithon's lab with his wrists bound and mouth gagged. “This will take a while you should get comfortable.”

* * *

Sweat poured down his face and his chest heaved with exertion by the time she removed the last crystal from him. Blood stained the tabletop, not that she seemed bothered by that in the slightest, from the crystals and his freely bleeding arms. Everything below the elbow felt numb, which should have concerned him, but the lack of pain made it difficult to care of the ramifications for such rough removal. While he caught his breath, the hag brought over a chest to place the crystals in. Once the last went in, she locked it and returned it to the shelf it came from.

“Your end of the bargain is complete.” The room darkened, like all the light was being sucked away sending a chill down his spine, then flared back to life. “Now, mine is as well. Her curse is lifted.”

Sluggishly, he nodded his head, then struggled to stand from the chair as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He stumbled to the door with his arms hanging useless by his side and exited the hut when it opened. As when he entered, the door immediately shut behind him leaving him shakily standing outside. The stares of the others barely registered as he fought the exhaustion trying to take hold of him. When his knees finally buckled, his entire body tipped forward toward the ground, but he didn't feel the impact.

* * *

Time dragged on as they waited for the door to the hut to open once more. Like Yasha, Caleb hadn't said a word before entering the hut, so they didn't have the slightest clue what he planned to offer. The longer it took the greater their worry grew, but no one dared to break the door down to find out. They were beginning to get restless when the door abruptly opened, bathing the figure in the doorway in a soft glow.

As soon as Caleb crossed the threshold, the door shut once again cutting off the only light source. In the few seconds it took his eyes to adjust, Caleb wavered dangerously on the spot, then buckled forward. Before Fjord could even move, Beau dashed across the space to catch Caleb and gently lower him to the ground. When he slid to a stop next to them, there was so much blood he immediately checked his pulse. While it was weak, the faint heartbeat beneath his fingers turned fear into determination.

“Jester! Caduceus! Quickly!”

At the same time his palm pressed flat against Caleb's chest, another joined his as they both glowed with radiant energy. He nodded at Yasha, then moved out of the way when Caduceus placed a light hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, he reached for Caleb's hand so he would have something to cling to, then stilled at a sticky sensation.

“Fuck.” Pushing up the sleeve revealed Caleb's forearm, which was coated in blood and looked like an animal gouged its claws into him. “Cad, his arms.”

The entire time Caduceus worked on healing the horrific wounds on his arm, Fjord kept his eyes focused on the Caleb's face for any sign of waking. When his eyes fluttered, everyone held their breath to see whether he would wake, then shot into motion when they did. Beau helped him up to lean against her chest and stabilized him with a hand to the chest for support.

“What the fuck happened in there?” While Beau sounded angry, he could hear the concern lacing her words.

“I made a trade.”

“What trade?”

“What Trent put in me. All of it.”

“Can you squeeze Fjord's hand?” Her eyes narrowed when his fingers weakly flexed around Fjord’s hand. “Harder than that.”

“Trying.”

“Fuck. Okay. How is he looking Caduceus?”

Curls of moss covered the wounds, then sank into them over and over again as Caduceus ran his hand along Caleb's forearm. “There is a lot of damage. It will take time to heal it all, but he is not in danger of dying.”

“Can he be moved?”

“We'll need to be careful with him. It might be best to stay here for the evening.”

“I'd rather get away from her as fast as possible.”

“That is understandable. We should keep in mind that we are not familiar with the area and more dangerous things may come out at night. As much as you want to leave here, it seems her presence is keeping away anything that might put us in danger.”

“Fine. Can you do more to help him?”

“I will do what I can.”

After staring at Caduceus for a long moment, Beau gave a stiff nod of her head and shrugged out of her coat. She gently lowered Caleb to ground with her balled up coat tucked under his head like a pillow. Before standing up, she leaned further down to whisper something in Caleb's ear and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Her hand landed on his shoulder to give a firm squeeze of comfort.

“Come help get camp put up for the evening. Cad can be more help to him than we can right now."

“Yeah, I... I'll help.” Being careful not to interrupt Caduceus's work, Fjord rested Caleb's hand on his abdomen and removed his cape to blanket his legs. “Take good care of him, Cad.”

“I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always greatly appreciated. You can find me on Tumblr ([SociallyAwkwardFoxWriter](http://sociallyawkwardfoxwriter.tumblr.com/)) or Twitter ([@AwkFoxy](https://twitter.com/AwkFoxy)).


End file.
